Argus Insurance Co. Ltd. subsidiary Bermuda Life Insurance Co. Ltd. has been recognised for its staff development programme by a prestigious North American trade organisation involved in development and training for those in the life insurance industry.

Bermuda Life, the leading provider of private pensions in Bermuda, won the Excellence in Education Award from Life Office Management Association (LOMA), an association whose US and Canadian members account for 90 percent of the life insurance in force in North America.

LOMA's official mandate is to assist insurance companies in their head office function. It is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia with staff of about 200.

Last year, 13 Argus staff enrolled in 21 examinations, while nine senior staff members acted as instructors.

The award recognises member companies that do an outstanding job of developing their staff through the Fellow, Life Management Institute (FLMI) Insurance Education Programme.

This year, just 70 companies and branches of LOMA's over 900 member companies earned the award.

Other than membership, the award's criteria include the enrolment of employees in a minimum of 20 examinations a year, with a pass rate in the top 25 percentile of participating firms, with a did-not-sit rate below 15 percent and an exhibited growth in the number of administered examinations that is greater than the industry average.

Managing director and CEO of the Argus group, E. John Sainsbury, said, "We have long recognised the importance of having well-qualified staff here at Argus. Our entire organisation is committed to staff development.'' TOP-CLASS TRAINING -- Argus group managing director and CEO John Sainsbury (second from right) congratulates LOMA Level One Certificate recipients Daniel Matthews (left) and Barbara-Anne Thorne. Looking on is head instructor in Bermuda Life's LOMA educational programme Carl Nanton.